


Awakening

by Anonymous



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen, based on heavenin--hells guardian statue sketch on tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:00:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24361705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: When he was sealed into the tomb over 500 years ago, Inuyasha thought he would never see daylight again.
Relationships: Higurashi Kagome/InuYasha
Comments: 20
Kudos: 63
Collections: Anonymous





	Awakening

When he was sealed into the tomb over 500 years ago, Inuyasha thought he would never see daylight again. 

He did not expect for a group of explorers to break into his crypt, to dig him up and pull him out of his chamber.  
He did not expect to be loaded onto a roaring truck that would take him someplace unknown.  
He did not expect for people to probe and prod, to turn him over again and again, and to document everything they found.  
And when they were done with him, they displayed like a trophy in exhibition after exhibition.  


“They haven’t moved me in a while.”, he thought bitterly. At this point, he wouldn’t mind a new setting. The hall he was put in this time was light and airy, with big windows, impossibly high ceilings and great white marble arches. Next to him there were some rusty swords and pieces of broken pottery displayed in glass vitrines. While it was definitely preferable to some of the dusty and crammed rooms he had been in since his unearthing, it was boring. So unbelievably boring. They had not moved him around the room once since they put him here. 

He wasn’t sure if he could be considered dead. After flashing in and out of consciousness, the short bursts of awareness leaving behind strange impressions that confused him to no end, his mind settled on being present all the time. His body? _Not so much._ He seemed to be doomed to a life of passive perception, unable to move or alert anyone of his predicament. At least he couldn’t feel anything in his paralysis, otherwise every bumpy road traveled, every careless researcher would have left him black and blue. He probably would have gone crazy from not being able to scratch his nose. _Small mercies._  
Every day, he would have to suffer through hordes of humans trample and stumble through his room, gawking at him in awe. Nothing in this room could outstage him, which made him the sole focus of their attention. He was the main attraction. Not that he would have minded that when he was still alive. He would have bathed in it if he could. Now it just made him angry, without having an outlet for it, except for silently planning the murder of the most annoying, bad smelling spectators.

But no change occured, so day in, day out, endless streams of mindlessly chattering humans would move in and out of his sight. Three times a day, like a damn clockwork, the high-pitched nasal voice of a woman, who was apparently an “expert” on all things concerning him, would deliver a short lecture riddled with inaccuracies -he did not make a pact with a demon- and down right insults - the priestess did not _tame_ him, _he wasn't some mindless animal_ \- for a small group of people. Then they would pause, and stare. Sometimes ask questions. And then they would move on, until the next bunch of people would filter through to pause and stare. 

Another unfortunate constant was the balding security guard, who goes by the name of Carl and probably somewhere in his late forties, early fifties, and sits in the dark corner next to the broken pottery. Despite his rapidly worsening digestion problems - how often could that man eat cheese and suffer from a stomach ache without figuring out that he probably had an intolerance? The smell alone could have killed lesser men- probably had a better life than he had right now.  
He had reached the point where he made a game out of guessing what was going on outside of his room.  
The heavy thundering of a delivery truck hitting the pothole on the street no one had bothered to fix.  
Angry drivers mercilessly honking their cars, frustrated with the slow flow of morning traffic.  
Flashes of red-blue lights accompanied by a shrill sirene. A police car.  
The sizzling and popping of frying oil in the fast food truck, accompanied by the thick smell of frying meat and melting cheese.  
By now he could pinpoint the ticking of the desk lady’s watch in the morning crowd.  
It wasn’t simply boring, it was maddening.  
No, he wouldn’t mind being moved again at all.

Nighttime had become his only sanctuary. When the last of the day staff left to return home, and the insistent buzzing of life outside toned down somewhat, he was able to rest. In a strange way it reminded him of the fleeting memories he still had of the solitary confinement inside the crypt.  
While he was unable to sleep, he could at the very least enjoy the relative silence.  
He had learned to value peace and quiet after the first few weeks in this new, vibrant world. 

The familiar clicking of heels on hard stone pulled his attention away from the roaring life outside of his prison. 19:30. Last guided tour of the day. After that the massive front doors would close, and after the evening staff had cleaned up after today's visitors, he would be alone again.  
Sixteen, no, seventeen people were slowly moving towards his chamber, the smell of dried ink and greasy cafeteria food clinging to them like a second skin. College students. They were not the worst visitors, but they usually stayed the longest, asking questions and scribbling answers into their notebooks. They were quietly chattering among themselves, careful not to interrupt the lecture. 

_God choice kids. This one gets really touchy about these things._

“Next up, we have a statue representing the guardian demon from…”-believe it or not, he was not just representing said demon- “Oddly enough the researchers weren’t able to determine the materials used to make him” - he was made from flesh and bone, lady, _it's not my fault your “scientists” are shit_ \- “but they were able to identify him as the demon from the legend in the last room.” The obnoxious voice of the tour guide came to stop in front of him, prompting the rest of the crowd to gather in front of her.  
To the back of the group there was a familiar scent of ginger and chamomile, that threw him off his track. If he still had a heartbeat it would have stopped now.  
He could see the back of the guides head and most of the students, but to his dismay the only interesting person in the group managed to stay out of his sight, partially obscured save for hints of dark hair.

_Who are you?_

“... is modeled very realistically, which is unusual for the time period….” 

_Show yourself, god fucking dammit!_

“Excuse me, but if there are so many questions surrounding this artefact, how can you be sure of its authenticity?”, one of the older students piped up.  
“Thank you, that's an excellent question. Well, when the statue was found a bit over twenty years ago it was in a sealed chamber with other artefacts that could clearly be dated, and there were no signs of entry before….”  
His mind was racing with possible explanations for this bbhdvh.

“... we have a more detailed model of the site in the next room. If you would follow me please.” They all jostled out of the room, pushing and shoving each other to get to the front.

And then the strange old-but-somehow-new smell stepped into his line of sight, finally giving a face to this confusing situation.

She came to stand a few steps in front of him, the light of the dying sun from the east window bathing her in a bloody red.  
With raven hair pulled back into a low bun and a loose white blouse tucked into soft pants, she looked so much like… His heart ached. But even though the woman in front of him could have been her sister, she was not the one who had once died in his arms.  
Still, he took the time to study her as she studied him. A look of quiet contemplation was on her face, the last bits of baby-fat still lining her cheeks, making her look younger than she probably was. He could have sworn that he felt his heart beating almost painfully in his chest.  
Now that he had gotten over the initial shock at least somewhat, he noticed that there was a strange dual sound to her hectic heartbeat. Her smell filled his nose, coffee, ink and faint traces of dried wood,strong and intoxicating, drowning out everything else.  
Her pupils were blown wide, almost swallowing her irises. Her doe-like eyes were slowly wandering up his form, scanning him with unhidden fascination, not unlike those first scientists, before they caught his own. Her eyes glazed over as she was slowly drawn in closer, almost as if she was sleepwalking.

There. Barely a millisecond behind the beating of her heart. Now that he was able to pinpoint the sensation, it was as clear as day. From her left side, coming of her in waves, thrumming with raw power. Her hand reached out for him, slender fingers extending slowly. The air around them was alive, charged with energy, ready to spark, ready to ...

_Come on. Closer. Just a little closer._

“Miss, please step away from the statue!”  
She squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head frantically, her han dropping back to her side, as if someone had cut the strings on a puppet. The guard seemed to have broken the dreamlike trance just before she could touch him.  
“I’m so sorry sir,” she stuttered, blushing furiously,” I don’t know what came over me.”  
“Don’t worry miss, you wouldn’t be the first one to fall for his charms!” The security guards booming laughter send vibrations through the floor and straight to his newly awakened feet.” He’s a real ladies man, this one!”  
She gave an embarrassed chuckle. “Again, I am so, so sorry. I really don’t want to cause any trouble, especially so close to you guys …. closing?”  
_Very eloquent, lady._ If he wasn't frozen, he would have a hard time hiding his anger. She had been so close to him, and something deep inside of him yearned for her touch. If her mere presence was able to make him experience the world again so vividly, her touch would surely bring him back to life. He was dreading the moment the sensation would fade, and he would be numb again.  
But still, the electric feeling didn’t leave his body, staying behind and setting him aflame. Pins and needles continued to travel up his body. He could feel the control of his body come back slowly, returning to his toes, the tips of his fingers, the outer edges of his ears, burning and biting as blood came rushing back through his body.

“Anyway, I really should be catching up with my group!”  
“Well, miss, don’t let me stop you.” 

And just like that, she turned around to leave, fleeing the room like she had been bitten, cursing under her breath.  
He was forced to listen to her run away, still bound by his paralysis but awake in a way he hadn’t before, the sound of her heels on the marble floor, until she eventually caught up with her group and he had to stain his ears to catch the very last echo. 

Several hours after sundown, Inuyasha experimentally tested out his newfound movement, slowly flexing his fingers and rotating his ears. 

Stretching his muscles for the first time in what felt like a small eternity, Inuyasha jumped down from the pedestal, relishing in the feeling of the cold stone floor against his bare feet.  
He crouched down and took a deep breath, picking up her scent. 

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on heavenin--hells guardian sketch on tumblr. I don't know how links work yet, and its 2am right now, otherwise I would take the time to figure it out.  
> Other things that I don't know, including, but not limited to: editing, formating and proofreading. I am ridiculously proud for figuring out how to put things in italics.  
> I wrote this in a day, instead of writing my stuff for uni.  
> How did I manage to convince myself that this is a good idea? It's probably good that I'm tired right now, and can't think to hard on it.  
> English is not my first language and this is my first time writing, so please be kind.


End file.
